 The squadron moved to Italy in November that year, with detachments at Malta, and then moved again to Gibraltar in February 1944, disbanding on 31 March 1944.On 1 July 1944, 353 Squadron, a transport squadron equipped with a mix of Lockheed Hudsons and Douglas Dakotas based at Dum Dum near Calcutta, India, was split into two, with the Dakota equipped 'C' and 'D' Flights becoming 52 Squadron.A major role of the new squadron was flying air mail over the Himalaya Mountains to China, the so-called "Hump route".